Shark Attack
by KelliP
Summary: 'Right on cue, his wife appears in the doorway, a sweet smile on her face as she holds their son in her arms.' It's Father's Day in the ever-growing Castle household, and he thinks this might just be the best one yet.


**Shark Attack**

* * *

'_Right on cue, his wife appears in the doorway, a sweet smile on her face as she holds their son in her arms.' It's Father's Day in the ever-growing Castle household, and he thinks this might just be the best one yet._

_Inspired by this picture I saw on tumblr: _kellisworld dot tumblr dot com / post / 25218537686

* * *

"Good morning!" his daughter exclaims cheerfully as she pushes his bedroom door open with her shoulder, a tray overflowing with breakfast foods in her hands. Castle smiles widely as he pushes himself up from the mattress, and rubs away the last traces of sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Happy Father's Day, Dad," Alexis says as she sets up the foldaway table in front of him. She places a kiss on his cheek as he stares down at the array of foods in front of him, deciding where to start. "You know you want the chocolate chip pancakes, don't you?"

He smiles sheepishly as his daughter raises a knowing eyebrow at him. "If you made them for me more often, I wouldn't gorge myself on the rare occasions I _do_ get a chance to eat them."

"Hey- it's not up to me anymore," Alexis says, her tone full of teasing.

"Speaking of- where is Kate?" he asks, glancing at the empty bed beside him.

"She said she'll be in soon," Alexis explains. "She didn't think it would be a good idea to bring the little monster in while you were eating."

He cringes at the thought of his breakfast being spilt all over their doona like last year. "Yeah," he agrees, cutting of a large wedge of pancake. "Good thinking."

After a few bites, he becomes aware of Alexis' watchful eye. "Wh-a?" he asks around his mouthful of food, earning him a glare.

"Dad, don't talk with your mouth full!" she exclaims, a look of disgust spreading across her face.

He swallows the massive chunk currently in his mouth and shrugs. "It's good," he tries to justify, but Alexis rolls her eyes.

"You can still enjoy it like a normal person," she mutters.

"So, what's the plans for today?" he asks before stuffing another over-sized wedge of pancake into his mouth. His daughter scowls at him for it, but at least she doesn't scold him again.

"Whatever you want," she says instead with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's Father's Day."

Finishing off the pancakes, he reaches for the fruit bowl as he contemplates the day ahead, popping a strawberry into his mouth. "The aquarium?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

Alexis lets out a small groan at the idea. "Dad, we went there last week. _And_ the week before. _And_ the week before _that_."

"Yes, but _I_ didn't get to go," he whines.

Alexis narrows her eyes. "Just eat your breakfast."

He opens his mouth to argue, but the breakfast in front of him is just too appealing, and it doesn't take him long to polish it off.

"Alright," he says as he puts down his fork. "Where's Kate?"

Right on cue, his wife appears in the doorway, a sweet smile on her face as she holds their son in her arms.

"Here's Daddy!" Kate exclaims, angling her body towards him. The little boy struggles in her arms, trying to break free from her grip. He watches as Kate fights him for a moment longer before gives in and sets him down so he can race towards the bed.

Spotting trouble, Alexis quickly lifts the now empty tray away before it can be knocked over.

"Daddy! Daddy!" his son exclaims gleefully as he climbs onto the bed.

"Hey, my man!" Castle exclaims as he pulls his son into his arms.

"Jack, be careful!" Kate scolds as she climbs onto the bed beside him, but their son is too excited to pay any attention, instead throwing his arms around his father.

"Happy Daddy's Day!"

Castle lets out a laugh at his son's proud expression, and smacks a kiss onto his cheek. "Thanks, buddy."

"I made you a drawing," Jack smiles. "Mommy, where my drawing?"

A panicked expression crosses Kate's face, and she sits up straight in the bed. "Oh! Uh-"

"I'll find it," Alexis says as she picks up the tray. "Have to clean this up, anyway."

"Thanks," Kate smiles, easing back against the headboard.

It isn't long before Alexis manages to locate the drawing and hand it too him, and he has to press his lips together to suppress the small chuckle that bubbles to his lips. He has absolutely no clue what the drawing is supposed to be. The largest, centre blob is a bright purple, and it's surrounded by an array of green and yellow and red smaller blobs. And then there's the blue lines scribbled over the entire picture.

"Tell Daddy what you drew," Kate prompts their son, coming to his rescue.

"It's a shark, Daddy! And those are fishies," he points to the bright coloured blobs around the edge of the page.

A smile breaks from his lips. "Good work, bud. I love it." He presses a kiss into his son's hair. "And you know what? Because today is Father's Day, I get to pick _anything_ I want to do. And do you know what I picked?"

"What you pick, Daddy?"

"I picked the aquarium!"

Jack lets out a shriek of excitement, and hugs Castle tighter. "Yes! Sharks, Daddy! And fishies."

"Rick…" he hears his wife groan beside him, but he ignores her, loving the joyful look in his son's eyes.

"Yeah, bud. Fishes. Lots of fishes. And sharks, and sea lions, and penguins, and turtles, and octopus, and-"

"Sharks!" his son exclaims again.

He chuckles. "Yeah. Sharks, too."

"I love sharks, Daddy."

"I know you do," Castle grins.

"Jack, why don't you come with me and get dressed, and then we can go to the aquarium?" Alexis suggests. His son nods eagerly, and reaches his arms out for his sister, who lifts him from the bed with ease.

The moment they've left the room, a hand slaps him across his chest. "Ow!" he exclaims, rubbing a hand across his chest. "What's that for?"

"The _aquarium_? Really, Rick? You couldn't have picked anything else?"

"Hey- it's Father's Day. I get to pick whatever I want."

"Do you have _any_ idea how many times I've taken him there in the past few months? Every time I take him out of the house so you can write, the only place he wants to go is the aquarium."

"Again, I must point out today is Father's Day, and therefore it's my choice."

Kate narrows her eyes at him before stalking towards the bathroom. "You're insufferable."

* * *

The moment they enter the inside of the aquarium, Castle's so glad they came. His heart swells as he watches his son's face light up at the sight of the colourful fish racing by.

"Daddy, look!" Jack exclaims, pointing towards a larger green fish floating next to the glass. His son wiggles in his arms, trying to get closer to the fish, and he has to tighten his grip to stop him from squirming away.

"Pretty cool, huh?" He moves closer to the glass so Jack can press his hands and face up against it. He hears Kate groaning somewhere behind him about germs, but he ignores her, and lets their son enjoy himself. "Which one is your favourite?" he whispers in Jack's ear.

Jack's eyes search the tank, but after a few moments, he shakes his head. "No shark. I like shark best."

"The shark's are in another room," Castle explains. "Do you want to go see the sharks?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright," he laughs. He turns them away from the glass, hoisting his son back up against his chest as he slips. As they walk through the aquarium, Jack shouts out randomly, and Castle has to stop so he can look at a passing turtle or stingray or any number of jellyfish that float by.

By the time they finally exit the first room a half hour later, Kate and Alexis have disappeared, choosing to check out the shows instead of spending all their time in the shark tank like the last hundred times they've brought Jack here. Castle doesn't complain, though; he loves watching the amazement in his son's eyes as the fish swim through the tanks.

When they enter the next room, Castle grins. He loves this part. "Hey- look up, buddy!"

They're in the tunnel now, water surrounding them 360 degrees. Jack's head shoots up, following his father's outstretched hand. His son's jaw drops open as he admires the fish swimming high above them.

"Wow," Jack whispers, mesmerised at the enormity of it all.

"Look down," Castle instructs next. Jack manages to tear his eyes away from the fish above them to see a stingray float by beneath their feet.

"Oh, Daddy!" he cries, and squirms in his arms. Castle hesitates for a moment- knowing Kate doesn't like letting him down, because he has a habit of running- but eventually sets his son down. He keeps a firm grip on his hand as Jack bounces across the floor, chasing the stingray.

He's so intently focused on the expressions on his son's face that almost doesn't see the young Chinese couple, but manages to grab Jack at the last second before he crashes into them.

Muttering a quick apology for disturbing them, he scoops up his son back into his arms, the promise of sharks flowing quickly from his mouth before he starts to wail.

* * *

They've been in the shark tank for almost an hour and a half now, but Jack still has the widest smile on his face, completely fascinated by the enormous tank stretching right up to the ceiling. And Castle's sure he does, too, as he fixates on his son.

"Daddy, look!" Jack shouts, his hand stretching towards the sky as he indicates to the shark swimming at the top of the tank.

"Yeah, bud. It's pretty high, huh?"

Suddenly, the shark dives, his tailfin pushing through the water as he races towards the bottom. He feels his son tense in his arms as he watches the shark, as if afraid it's going to crash, but just before the shark hits the floor, it corrects itself, instead speeding through the water straight towards them.

The shark's mouth opens wide, it's sharp teeth dangerous, as it flies towards them, as if they are his prey. But once again, the shark turns just before it collides with the glass, and speeds upward towards the top of the tank once again.

His son lets out a gleeful laugh, and claps his hands excitedly at the shark's performance. He grips Jack tighter in his arms as he feels his face bury into his shoulder.

"That was pretty cool, hey?" Castle says.

"Shark, Daddy," Jack murmurs his hands reaching up to cling around his neck.

Castle's heart swells, filling with love at the small child in his arms. Barely two years old, and he's already growing up too fast. He never wants this to end.

A bright flash blinds him suddenly, and he turns to find Alexis smiling at them, a camera raised in her hands. He grins, and moves towards them, wrapping an arm around his daughter.

"Love you, Alexis," he whispers.

"Love you back."

* * *

Castle leans down to press a soft kiss to his sleeping son's forehead as he pulls up the blankets tightly around him. His hand strokes Jack's head as he stands there, listening to the quiet breathing as his son dreams.

It's only a few moments later when he feels Kate's hand wrap around his waist, and her head burrow into his shoulder.

"Did you ever wish you weren't an only child?" she asks him quietly.

He shrugs. "Sometimes I did," he admits. "But, I always had enough friends. Some of them were even real."

She sends him a pointed look, but the corners of her mouth twitch upwards as she fights a smile.

"What about you?" he asks, turning so he can see her face better. "Did you ever want a sibling?"

"Yeah, I did," she says. "It got a bit lonely. I mean, my parents were always around, but being lawyers, they were always so busy. It would've been nice to have someone else to play with once in a while."

He presses his lips together as he watches her carefully. "I had no idea," he murmurs. "I always pictured you as the independent child on the playground, the one who was perfectly content playing off on her own."

A small smile escapes on her lips. "Just because I wasn't constantly striving for attention doesn't mean I didn't want someone to play with."

"Hey!" he exclaims, mocking hurt.

"I'm talking about our son," she says with an eye roll.

"Oh. Right."

"Of course, he had to get it from somewhere…" she mutters. He narrows his eyes at her, but doesn't say anything further.

"Any particular reason we're discussing this?"

She lifts her head away from their son to look at him, her eyes soft. "I'm pregnant," she whispers.

Oh.

A grin breaks free, and he leans down to press a fierce kiss to his wife's lips.

"Best Father's Day ever."


End file.
